Soldier Ordered To Close Down Blog

A month before his deployment to Iraq, Matt Gallagher began a blog which he called, “Kaboom: A Soldier’s War Blog.” In June, Gallagher announced he had been ordered to cease offering his blog comments to the world. Someone was upset at his May 28 post which was entitled: “The Only Difference Between Suicide and Martyrdom is Press Coverage.” The post which detailed Gallagher turning down a promotion so he could stay with his platoon was not approved by his commander before being published. In his last post, he wrote: “It’s totally on me, as it was too much unfiltered truth. I’m a soldier first, and orders are orders. So it is.” Gallagher was was promoted to the rank of captain believes the important thing is getting Americans involved in thinking about the war regardless of whether they support it or not.

Captain Gallagher began the blog as a way of expressing his feelings and communicating with his family. During World War II, great war correspondents like Ernie Pyle were with the men in the front lines and wrote about their lives without glossing over the situation.(Pyle died in the front lines). Bill Mauldin used his wit and cartoons to lambast the military and its officers. When, a general wanted to shut him down, General Eisenhower forbid the action saying American troops needed someone who expressed their feelings. It is unfortunate in the 21st century we lack officers like Dwight Eisenhower who understood the importance of allowing men on the front line to express their emotions without fear of censorship.